Pan Yicheng reported the situation back to the country, then contacted the Chinese personnel near the relic to arrange a meeting with Mondsen’s leader, Q.
Chu Qianli had just awakened in the hospital. She and Tan Muxing did not rest for long; after changing clothes, they were ready to head to the Gate of Truth.
At the doorway, Tan Muxing had already changed into clean clothes. He was surprised to see Chu Qianli wearing a skirt, then couldn’t help but show a smile, quickly suppressing it and pursing his lips.
“What’s so funny?” Chu Qianli casually spun around, boldly showing off and arguing, “We need to be more formal when handling things.”
“Aren’t you cold?” Tan Muxing said helplessly. “When I made the clothes, I didn’t expect you to wear this now.”
Country H’s temperature was quite low. Although she wore a thick coat, he still worried she was too lightly dressed.
“It’s not cold when we take the car over,” Chu Qianli said, looking down to inspect herself and honestly adding, “Besides, I feel inexplicably energetic right now.”
After relying on the murals to divine underwater, Chu Qianli was not only uninjured during the drowning, but felt filled with strength. The doctors thought she was in a relaxed state at the time, not struggling desperately and thus avoiding excess physical stress, which helped her survive.
“When we get back…” Tan Muxing’s gaze shifted. He hesitated and lowered his head, finally mustering the courage to stammer, “I’ll make you a winter outfit too.”
Chu Qianli muttered, “Muxing, you’re so stingy, only one piece?”
“How many do you want?” He secretly glanced at her, something he had never said before. Suddenly feeling shy and embarrassed, he quietly amended, “…I could keep making you clothes.”
“How long ‘keep’?”
“Every year from now on.”
Chu Qianli was stunned.
Seeing her stunned, Tan Muxing inexplicably panicked and hurriedly explained, “Of course, you don’t have to wear them all. You can just pick the ones you like. I’m not forcing you to take every single one…”
Tan Muxing feared she would feel pressured, as if she had to wear only the clothes he made.
“Shouldn’t you then make them every year, every season? Otherwise, how would I have any clothes to wear?” Chu Qianli said proudly. “Muxing, you should make a fashion catalog when you go back, so I can see what new clothes come out each season!”
“Eh!?”
Chu Qianli complained plaintively, “Other people’s Zhishi make tons of clothes, but mine only made me one piece, so I have nothing to wear…”
“…But I don’t make them well, I always feel embarrassed to give them away.”
“I don’t care! I only want the ones you make!”
Tan Muxing couldn’t help but smile at her unreasonable fuss. He took the first step down the stairs, reaching out his hand to her with a gentle gaze and said, “Alright then, from now on, every year and every season, I’ll make clothes and give them to you.”
His expression, contrasted by the fine snow, grew even gentler.
“That’s better.”
Chu Qianli clasped his warm hand in return, and together they headed toward the next destination.
Above the snowy plains, clouds drifted.
The relic site was heavily guarded. This place was far from the city center, a flat and isolated wasteland, with only a research outpost located there. Now, the area was cordoned off with tape and fenced in, with uniformed soldiers posted every few steps.
The relic’s passage lay at the center of this area, with not only Ebner waiting at the entrance but also armed security personnel.
Ebner sighed with relief seeing Chu Qianli safe, then glanced at Tan Muxing holding her hand and said, “Q is in the hall.”
The Chinese side had not yet mentioned closing the relic to Mondsen, so the other party mistakenly thought they came to unlock the seventh pearl.
Qiao and others had been caught when placing the Ru En stone. Combined with Lin’s sudden internal split, Mondsen suffered talent losses, leaving only Ebner in the field of mysticism.
Chu Qianli stood outside the passageway, not immediately entering but pausing thoughtfully for a few seconds before asking, “Ebner, why do you work for Mondsen?”
“Because I want to collect mystical knowledge, but to get close to the relic, I have to go through Mondsen,” Ebner shrugged, “It’s their territory after all.”
“What if one day your curiosity destroys all of this? Would you still make the same choice?”
It’s probably the saddest thing to appreciate diverse civilizations but witness ancient ones perish.
Ebner was taken aback, looking at her in surprise. After hesitating for a while, he asked, “Did you see something on the murals?”
“Actually, after my fever I saw some images, but couldn’t grasp their meaning, so I thought I’d try to gather more information for research,” Ebner’s eyes softened. “If you’ve already understood everything, just tell him frankly. I swear, Q is different from Lin.”
Ebner was the scholar who had visited the relic the most. Each time he passed through the passage, he made progress but, regrettably, never uncovered the secret of the murals.
Yet now, he had a premonition that Chu Qianli might have succeeded.
“If one day my curiosity will ruin everything, then I’ll choose to put away my curiosity.”
Ebner gazed at the distant little city, which from above looked like a tiny model, yet it was a rare warm haven for people in the cold region.
He liked this place, nothing to do with the relic.
After Pan Yicheng finished counting the team and confirming everyone was accounted for, he said, “Let’s get going.”
Mei Rujing and Xu Zaiyuan were already in the group; only the exorcist Huang Jue couldn’t enter.
Huang Jue had been in poor condition lately, permanently in exorcist mode, showing himself as Huang Xian.
“It’s said that after reincarnation, your disciple might have fallen into the beast realm,” Xu Zaiyuan speculated rationally, “Maybe that’s why he can’t enter.”
“Little Taoist, you better accumulate more virtue. I’m on the path of the Asura!” Huang Xian snapped sharply, “What’s so great about this place? I’m not eager to go!”
Mei Rujing coldly mocked, “Why do you guys mess with ghosts and spirits and still look down on each other?”
“All right, all right, stop arguing. Understand and tolerate differences!” Pan Yicheng mediated. “Huang Jue can stay outside with our people for now.”
Ebner led the group inside.
The passage remained unchanged. Holding hands, Chu Qianli walked with Tan Muxing. This time she didn’t feel pain but sensed countless vivid symbols from the murals drifting down, sorting out her past, present, and future clearly.
The flood of information completed her renewal; even her steps became lighter. Unconsciously, she felt the group growing larger, not only accompanied by Pan Yicheng and others but even predecessors who had passed this way before.
Any occult art’s development relies on accumulated knowledge, passed down generation after generation.
Chu Qianli glanced at a young man in ancient robes in the corner. He was seriously looking down at a compass, with a red Ru En stone at its center.
She instinctively reached to touch her own Ru En compass, then suddenly realized that under the murals’ effect she was seeing the past. The man before her was a genius predecessor who had once come here.
“Ancestor?” Chu Qianli recalled the compass’s creator.
The young man in ancient robes seemed to sense something and looked back. He seemed to see Chu Qianli too and said in surprise, “Ah.”
In that glance, he saw the future, she saw the past—the passage was a cross-time intersection.
The two astrology geniuses briefly locked eyes through time.
After a moment, Chu Qianli lost the connection. She looked at Tan Muxing excitedly and said, “Muxing, I saw it! I saw it!”
“Saw what?” Tan Muxing was full of curiosity.
“The ancestor!” Chu Qianli’s mind sparked with inspiration. She quickly focused and happily said, “That means I might still see the descendants.”
She wanted to see the future people who would open the relic.
Regrettably, she didn’t see them.
Chu Qianli was utterly bewildered. “Why is that? Could it be they don’t have divination talent? Could it be each generation is worse than the last? That would really upset Ancestor Granny.”
“…You suddenly elevated your own rank, huh.”
The group slowly passed through the corridor, arriving at the deepest part of the hall.
Someone in the team shared the feeling, and Xu Zaiyuan hesitated: “I think I just saw someone from the Qian Gate.”
Xu Zaiyuan had a sense that this passage was different from the first time—they vaguely spotted a Taoist dressed similarly to himself.
At that moment, the elderly man beside the Gate of Truth was the first to speak: “You’ve arrived.”
Chu Qianli looked up and saw that the hall was now filled with armed security personnel, a stark contrast to the usual emptiness, with Q standing prominently in the center like a star among stars.
He stared at the group steadily. His hair was meticulously groomed, shining silver-white like snow on a sunlit mountain peak, giving him a solemn and authoritative aura. This was a weathered elder with an iron will.
“Only the seventh bead remains,” Q said. “Once the relic opens, Lin is likely to attack here soon. I will do my utmost to ensure your safety.”
Pan Yicheng said seriously: “Sorry, after internal discussion, we believe it is not the right time to open the relic.”
Abner, waiting outside the relic, had anticipated this and was not overly surprised by the Chinese side’s change of mind.
Q’s expression shifted slightly: “Why? We should have already agreed, no?”
“Because the timing isn’t right yet,” Chu Qianli stepped forward calmly. “May I ask why you initially wanted to develop the Infant Stone? Given Mondsen’s strength, there’s no need to be so urgent.”
Q fixed his gaze on her youthful face, knowing she had a grudge with Lin and that her talent far exceeded Abner’s. He was silent for a moment, then decided to be frank:
“Even Mondsen’s power is declining. It looks prosperous, but growth has slowed year by year.”
“To be honest, if we don’t seize a new opportunity, after I completely step down, Mondsen will be an empty shell a hundred years from now…” Q’s eyes dimmed with disappointment.
As the current head of Mondsen, Q could see the reality more clearly than Lin. Naturally, he was wary of dangers ahead.
An empire-like family that fails to progress is in peril. Their global influence also means a fall would be catastrophic. Only by seizing new era opportunities early can they stand undefeated.
Q has yet to hand over power to Lin because he feels Lin has not truly awakened or matured enough to steer the great ship, wanting to wait for him to fully mature. This, however, provoked Lin’s rebellion and betrayal of the family.
From Lin’s view, if he could seize the Infant Stone, Mondsen would be unstoppable.
“So the development of the Infant Stone is to prolong the family’s legacy?” Chu Qianli offered.
“Then why don’t we perform a divination to see Mondsen’s future after the relic opens?”
“Divination?”
“Yes. This relic wasn’t discovered by you, but left by Mondsen’s ancestors, right?”
Q nodded in acknowledgment.
“Mondsen was established less than a century ago. The previous clan leader discovered similarities between the relic and the family emblem, so he invested heavily to buy large lands nearby, then started business operations in country H. Of course, that was in my childhood.”
Q grew up during the global economic boom and expanded Mondsen’s industries across countries and fields, leaving little attention for a small country like H. As he aged and sensed decline ahead, combined with advancing science and technology, he shifted focus to the Infant Stone relic.
“Have you thought that since the previous leader never opened it, maybe the relic isn’t good for the family?”
Q pondered slightly, then asked: “You want to divinate what opening the relic would mean for Mondsen?”
“Yes. The future is uncertain, so people sometimes act unwisely.”
Chu Qianli spoke candidly: “Divination doesn’t take much time, and there are many capable people present. I can’t easily lie here—why not give it a try?”
Among those present were members loyal to the Chinese side such as Mei Rujing and Xu Zaiyuan, and Mondsen’s side including Abner. Chu Qianli had no room for deception, as experts could expose any falsehood.
Q glanced at Abner: “Perhaps you two conspired.”
“That’s not a good way to think of people. Mr. Abner trusts you very much,” Chu Qianli shrugged, then earnestly said, “You may criticize our personalities, but in divination, we may be silent, but never deceitful. It’s our mission.”
This was their original purpose in studying astrology or choosing a spiritual path: to save oneself and others. To deviate from that was to fall into eternal ruin.
“Fine.” Seeing her determined gaze, Q finally decided. “How will you divinate?”
“Choose an object, then give me a number. I will divinate Mondsen’s future trajectory.” Chu Qianli glanced around broadly. “Of course, everyone is welcome to watch.”
Q thought for a moment, then silently took off the family emblem from his chest and announced a string of numbers on the spot.
“Is that all?”
“Yes. Please wait a moment.”
Chu Qianli inspected the snake and apple emblem, recorded the numbers Q gave, and began the divination process.
As she started chanting, the murals under the dome participated, but unlike her first painful encounter, they now greatly expanded the information available for divination.
Abner also took out a pendulum to verify Chu Qianli’s words.
Xu Zaiyuan’s fingers twitched, and he helplessly said, “…No, I still get a headache.”
However, Chu Qianli on site was unaffected. She concentrated fully, seemingly merging with the complex and mysterious writings on the wall, effortlessly touching the future amidst countless clues, dancing among the stars within the vast information!
It was as if she had a sudden enlightenment, reaching a new level in divination!
After a long while, Chu Qianli finished and slowly gave her conclusion.
She looked directly at Q, then said: “If the relic is not opened, after you step down it will mark the start of Mondsen’s decline from prosperity. The family’s century-old arms business will completely collapse; other industries and fields will also be impacted. The Nordic and East Asian markets will be entirely lost. Their long-held real estate will be destroyed by uncontrollable forces. A hundred years later, Mondsen’s influence will be greatly diminished, and two hundred years from now, the family name will no longer exist in the world.”
The air was deathly silent.
Abner immediately became anxious. These words were like a dagger to the heart—nothing said was what Q wanted to hear.
What shocked everyone was that Q did not become angry. Originally doubtful, he now appeared calm.
“It’s actually quite close to what I expected. Maybe I already guessed it, so I’m not surprised after hearing it,” Q sighed. “What if the relic is opened?”
Q knew well that continuing like this would lead to destruction; otherwise, he wouldn’t have planned to open the relic.
Chu Qianli paused briefly and answered honestly: “Mondsen will enter a new phase of development, reaching a fresh peak in the next twenty years. You, as the chief of the New Century Plan, will become a renowned figure in the family and even world history…”
Q’s eyes brightened, causing Pan Yicheng to feel uneasy.
In the next moment, Chu Qianli’s tone suddenly shifted as she continued: “However, the Infant Stone brings great benefits to Mondsen, but also irreversible doom. Thirty-three years later, distant armies will set foot on the snow-white country H. Fierce battles will awaken dormant volcanoes, and scorching magma will engulf everything, including the Mondsen family who opened the relic.”
“Countless calamities will brew hatred, and the family’s descendants will fall from the clouds to the abyss. They will be relentlessly hunted because of the Infant Stone and will vanish completely fifty years later. Mondsen will leave no trace in the world.”
The world would regard Mondsen as the source of disaster. From initial adulation to eventual hostility, it would only take a decade or so.
Of course, by then Q would have passed away and would not witness these events.
The relic grants Mondsen brief glory but greatly accelerates its demise.
Hope had risen in Q’s eyes, but now was extinguished in an instant, leaving only endless ashes behind.
He croaked: “Whether or not the relic is opened, we face destruction?”
He only wanted to prolong his family’s legacy, but both paths led to a dead end, leaving no way out.
“Actually, you’ve known for a long time, haven’t you?” Chu Qianli gazed at the old man before her. Having weathered countless storms, he was no fool but accumulated profound experience and insight—perhaps he had sensed the family’s decline.
Abner looked at the pendulum’s result and said softly, “I can’t divinate such a future, but I can divinate that she is not lying.”
Chu Qianli: “This is all I have seen. I do not recommend opening the relic.”
“Of course, I only offer advice. The choice is yours.”
Q’s face was full of despair. After a long silence, he couldn’t help but ask, “Then when will be the right time to open the relic? And who is that person?”
Chu Qianli did not mention the Five-Star East matter, instead answering calmly: “When the relic opens, Mondsen will already be history, but one branch will still remain. They no longer use the Mondsen surname but will meet the person who opens the relic and come here together using shared information.”
“They may create a new era, but it will not be the Mondsen era you imagine.”
“As long as there is a new era, as long as inheritance continues, that is enough. Do what you can and leave the rest to fate. I have done all I could; the future is theirs to play with,” Q said.
Q took a deep breath, stepped aside for Chu Qianli, and said, “Come up and take a look at this damn dial. After all our efforts, now we have to restore everything?”
Pan Yicheng exhaled deeply. He heard Q’s decision and realized that Q had chosen not to open the relic. As long as the relic remained unopened, Mondsen still had a hundred years and would not perish rapidly.
Chu Qianli hurriedly said, “Ah, no need to specially restore it. I’ll study the dial a bit; it should be possible to close it directly…”
Chu Qianli swiftly approached and carefully examined the six-star linked beads.
Outside the relic, Huang Xian stood with Chinese personnel. He sniffed the air and glanced to the side, asking, “Is that a dead end?”
“Yes, the terrain is steep and dangerous, with almost no people.”
“But it seems like a vehicle is approaching?” Huang Xian’s senses were sharper than ordinary people’s, so he naturally detected the abnormality first.
Moments later, several off-road vehicles sped down, breaking through the front barricade!
The people in the vehicles opened fire on the scene. Shi Zhuoqu broke through the outer defenses in one vehicle, while Lin and others drove into the corridor!
Lin’s face twisted: “We can’t let them close the relic!”
Inside the hall, spies relayed news that Chu Qianli intended to close the relic, naturally frightening Lin into acting first.
If the Infant Stone relic was completely closed, Lin’s plans would be ruined. Not only would he lose huge profits, but the family would have no foothold left. He relied on the Infant Stone to pull Q down from his throne, but if the relic wasn’t opened, Q would certainly settle old scores later!
Lin didn’t care about any divination—that was nonsense. He must open the relic!
Inside the hall, Chu Qianli was crouching before the Gate of Truth, concentrating on turning the dial. But in a corner, someone quietly raised a gun.
Lin had placed a key spy inside the hall, originally intending for that person to take a shot at Q at the right moment. Unexpectedly, now they had to act against Chu Qianli first.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, blood splattered!
The shooter wasn’t the corner spy but the quietly standing Tan Muxing.
The spy screamed in pain, instinctively clutching his palm before being tackled to the ground by those around him!
Tan Muxing had shot the spy’s hand precisely, disarming the gun: “Don’t point your gun at her.”
He had already broken down once by the Dark River and could not endure the same trauma again.
He hated all violence and bloodshed, and despised those who harmed others without shame. If someone in the world must raise a gun recklessly, then let them point it at the provocateur who raised theirs first.
“I’ve been watching you for a long time,” Mei Rujing said coldly as the spy was captured. “Something has felt off all along.”
Mei Rujing’s intuition was extremely strong. While Chu Qianli focused on divining for Q, Mei Rujing observed those around her and had already coordinated with Tan Muxing.
Q looked surprised: “I didn’t expect Lin’s men to have penetrated this far.”
Xu Zaiyuan said, “Someone’s coming.”
“A vehicle is rushing in!” Pan Yicheng frowned.
Under the protection of her companions, Chu Qianli raced against time. After one final turn of the dial, she finally let out a long sigh of relief, then stood up calmly and said cheerfully, “Calibration complete!”
The six-star linked-beads dial clicked crisply, and immediately the entire hall shook violently. Dust cascaded down from the corners, nearly causing those nearby to lose their footing!
Chu Qianli set the final time, and the ancient relic was completely sealed. The seventh bead slowly fell into place. Suddenly, a gap opened on the seven-star dial, and a shining object rolled into her hand.
Chu Qianli instinctively caught it, but those around her didn’t notice this and were still amazed by the hall’s transformations.
“Isn’t this going to collapse the place!?”
“The murals on the walls are flowing! They seem to be glowing!”
“They’re really moving—how is this possible!?”
The murals covering the walls resembled a flowing galaxy of stars, emitting brilliant light in the dimness, illuminating the hall as brightly as the midday sun. This was followed by a dizzying rotation!
At that moment, Lin recklessly drove into the hall, dragging the bound Qiao out of the car.
Lin raised his gun high, first aiming at Q, then shifting the muzzle toward Chu Qianli, shouting angrily, “Open the relic!”
“Put the gun down!”
Others immediately raised their guns at Lin, and tension escalated to a standoff!
Tan Muxing stepped left instantly, fully shielding Chu Qianli and preventing her from being exposed to the gunfire.
Q looked at the mad Lin calmly: “Lin, it’s over. The relic has been closed.”
“Impossible! Impossible!” Lin refused to lower his gun, furious and humiliated, “You told her to open it—she still can open it!”
Chu Qianli was fully shielded by Tan Muxing. She could not see the deranged Lin and quietly said, “I can’t open it now either. The next time will be at least two hundred years from now…”
If it was only the six-star linked-beads state, Chu Qianli could indeed open the relic, but she had just fused her lifetime of knowledge into the final calibration, setting the opening time to the proper moment!
This was the mission she had been guided to fulfill!
Whether astrology or Zi Wei (Purple Star Astrology), without the accumulation of predecessors, she could never glimpse the ultimate secrets in her lifetime. It wasn’t her deciding humanity’s future, but countless generations’ consciousness that had created her today.
“Nonsense!” Lin twisted to look at Lilith and the bound Qiao, loudly saying, “You two go and open it!”
They had brought Qiao specifically to force others to open the gate if one step failed.
The tape over Qiao’s mouth was suddenly ripped off, but he didn’t cooperate; instead, he retorted, “Friend, are you crazy? She was your top pick.”
Qiao felt insulted by the villain. If he had beaten Chu Qianli in the selection, he wouldn’t be struggling now to crack the mechanism she set!
Lilith stepped forward and fiddled with the crystal orb pillar but found no clue.
“You’re worse than me…” Qiao muttered.
Lin stubbornly refused to lower his gun, his features contorted as he argued, “Q, don’t believe that nonsense divination. You tell her to open it immediately—this is Mondsen’s hope to rise again!”
“Lin, stop. You lost.” Q said weakly. He didn’t understand why the successor he once placed great hopes in showed such a disgraceful and terrifying face. Perhaps the family’s decline was inevitable.
The murals finally lit up fully, even the crystal orb radiated brilliance!
After a roar, the seven-star linked-beads returned to their positions, and the relic was completely sealed. Brilliant light filled the entire hall.
The wall murals spun violently and transformed into countless stars, but unlike ordinary starlight, they were adorned with fresh red Infant Stones.
The shimmering walls were so bright that those nearby had to close their eyes. Even Abner instinctively averted his gaze. Only Chu Qianli, hidden behind Tan Muxing, stared intently at the spectacle.
This was the birth of a miracle.
She saw countless dawns of humanity and her own brand new future.
A tremendous karmic force suddenly exploded at this moment, not only breaking through the stalemate that had long troubled her but also reweaving humanity’s collective destiny!
Lin also greedily gazed at the scene but saw no miracle, and no feeling of awe arose in his heart. He only drooled over the red glow on the walls, seemingly purified and made from Infant Stone, but invisible to the naked eye under normal circumstances.
Suddenly, his vision went white, followed by painful blindness. His gun slipped from his hand, and he was instantly subdued by those rushing over!
Lilith and the others were also captured.
“My eyes, my eyes—I can’t see…” Lin began kneeling, crying bitterly. But soon he realized his consciousness was fading; even the ability to try to speak slipped away. His brain seemed to wither under the intense light, leaving only an empty shell.
Moments later, Lin lost all speech ability and became motionless, like a vegetative state. He still breathed but fell into complete silence.
Others hurried over, panicked, reporting: “It looks like brain death!”
The Infant Stone can stimulate brain activity, but improper use causes tragedy.
Nature silently delivered divine punishment at this moment to humans who lacked all reverence.
![Dissatisfied [e-sports]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/4997572.jpg "Dissatisfied [e-sports]")
